With the arrest of another Hindutva activist on Tuesday in connection withthe hoisting of a Pakistani flag in front of the Tahsildar office atSindagi in Karnataka on January 1, the number of persons held by the policefor what they believe was a plot to foment communal strife has increased toseven.

The arrested are members of Sri Ram Sene, a pro-Hindutva outfit. Accordingto the police, they allegedly hoisted the Pakistani flag and then blamed iton the town's Muslim community. The accused were shifted to the Bellarydistrict prison on Sunday morning as other inmates of the Bijapur districtjail allegedly attacked them for being involved in “anti-nationalactivities.”

Meanwhile, members of the district unit of Sri Ram Sene have said theaccused do not belong to their outfit but are members of the RashtriyaSwayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

At a press conference here, they released several pictures to prove theirpoint, alleging that the police had been pressured not to drag the name ofthe RSS into the issue.

Well-placed police sources, however, told The Hindu that the entireincident was carried out at the behest of an elected representative of theBJP, whose political agenda was to foment communal disturbances in thedistrict. The sources added that the elected representative had instructedhis supporters to destroy all evidence of his involvement, includingphotographs of the protesters and the banners of the organisation.

The Pakistani flag was hoisted in the early hours of January 1. Later inthe morning, the accused, led by Rakesh Math, organised a protest in frontof the Tahsildar's office, alleging that the Muslim community was behindthe incident. The protesters blocked the road and hurled stones at busesbefore the police enforced order.

The police then formed a special team to investigate the matter.

It concluded that the Sri Ram Sene activists who organised the protestswere behind the incident. They arrested the six ringleaders on January 3under various sections of the Indian Penal Code for sedition and incitingcommunal disturbance.

As a precautionary measure, the district administration has banned rallies,protests and dharnas in connection with the issue.